Written & storyboarded by Dashawn Mahone & Najja Porter
Due to what was perceived as improperly taking care of a turtle, Craig and his friends are visited by Wildernessa and her Tibetan Mastiff, Cheesesticks, who teach them to properly care for animals. Inspired, Kelsey takes up the cause, but realizes that she may be in over her head.
Tropes:
- Artistic License – Animal Care: Averted; chocolate is treated as a danger for dogs when they run amok at the trading post.
- Artistic License – Biology:
- The rabbits are, as usual, erroneously portrayed with paw pads and button noses.
- Kelsey considers rabbits and hares to be the same animal, though this is a common misconception.
- Canis Major: Wildernessa's Canine Companion Cheese Sticks, a Tibetan Mastiff who is large enough for her to ride on.
- Crush Filter: When Wildernessa describes the dangers of the creek, "kids who know nothing about nature" is depicted as Craig, but exaggeratedly handsome. A future episode makes it clear that she has a crush on Craig.
- Foreshadowing: Wildernessa's imagination of Craig being handsome foreshadows her crush on him.
- Free the Frogs: Inspired by Wildernessa's words, Kelsey decides to free all the neighborhood dogs from their backyards.
- Gone Horribly Right: Kelsey frees all the dogs in the neighborhood, only for them to run amok in the Trading Post and get into dangerous situations.
- Hypocritical Humor: Wildernessa constantly picks at Craig for not knowing anything about animals, yet she believes tigers were a natural part of the Creek's habitat and move in packs.
- Misplaced Wildlife: Wildernessa mentions tigers used to be part of the local wildlife, despite being in North America.
- Shout-Out:
- Wildernessa is a visual homage to Princess Mononoke.
- The turtle toys Kit offers Craig are reminiscent of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, except none of them are ninjas but rather army soldiers and samurais.
- Stock Animal Name: Defied. J.P. considers naming the box turtle they found "Sheldon", which gets declined.
- Surprisingly Realistic Outcome:
- Wildernessa warns the trio they should leave turtles alone, not just for the reptiles' well-being but also because they carry salmonella.
- Kelsey frees the neighborhood dogs expecting them to run free in the wild, but they only end up causing havoc and getting into danger, with one wandering into the street, almost getting hit by a car.
- We Need a Distraction: To keep the owners away while Kelsey frees the dogs, J.P. comes up with what he calls a "complicated" plan. Cut to him and Craig banging pots and pans while screaming.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Wildernessa scolds the trio for allowing the dogs to run amok since she's worried the dogs would get themselves hurt due to the humans' negligence.
